Interview conducted by Jeanne Christie. Albert C. Stewart was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1945, after graduating from the University of Chicago. He went to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and was one of a select group of African American...

Interview conducted by Michael Marinaro. Henry Singer joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1964 after receiving a draft notice. He decided on the Coast Guard because he would be eligible for OCS (Officer Candidate School) in this branch of the...

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Connie Nappier, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating high school in 1943. He wanted to be part of the Tuskegee Experiment, the program the Air Corps had set up to train African American...

Interview conducted by Heather Walsh. Howard Whittaker joined the U.S. Marines in 1942. In January of 1943 he left for basic training at Parris Island. He described the indoctrination as a Marine as difficult. He then went to advanced training...

Interview conducted by Don Aliff. George Cain enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in December of 1941. He was a senior at Georgetown University at the time, and wanted to become an officer in the army. The summer following his enlistment, he...

Interview conducted by Jeanne Marie Christie. John Lyman Cox enlisted in the U.S. Army while still in graduate school. He went to Officer Candidate School and graduated in August of 1969. He was placed in a vehicle maintenance company and was...

Interview conducted by Jane Natoli. William M. Blair Jr. was drafted into the U.S. Army in March of 1943. He was living in Waterbury, Ct. at the time, and working as a messenger in a bank. He went to basic training in Fort Sheridan, Ill. near...

Interview conducted by Jim Lyko. Frank Ladwig grew up in Fargo, N. Dakota, and attended college at North Dakota University. He then received a scholarship to Harvard Business School. On his return from Harvard, in December of 1940, he received a...

Interview conducted by Jim Lyko. John Maltese was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. After basic training at Camp Edwards, in Massachusetts he was assigned to the 462nd Amphibian Truck Company and trained at Ft. Moultrie in South Carolina. Maltese...

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Kilgore enlisted with the National Guard in 1937. When Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, he became activated with the U.S. Army. When he began basic training in the army, he was promoted to sergeant and then...

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Robert B. August originally enlisted in the Naval Air Corps while a student at Yankton College and washed out in flight training. To qualify for a commission, he completed his degree in three years. In August...

Interview conducted by Sarah Lawson. Phillip Davidson joined the U.S. Navy while he was at boarding school in Massachusetts. He was only 16 years old and required his parent’s signature in order to join. He thought of the navy as a “great...

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Louis H. Cohen enlisted in the National Guard in 1940 just before the draft began. In September of 1940, when the National Guard was federalized, he became part of the U.S. Army. He went to Camp Blanding, FL...

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Martin Gonzales was drafted into the U.S. Army while working in a shipyard in Los Angeles, Ca. He went to Miami Beach, Fla. for basic training, and then tested into Officer Candidate School. He did not want...

Interview conducted by Gregg Cerosky. Ronald M. Williams enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after dropping out of high school on his 17th birthday. He went to Sampson Air Force Base for basic training, which consisted of mainly classroom learning. ...

Interview conducted by Cynthia Tremaglio. Vincent F. Tremaglio was commissioned by the U.S. Navy in April of 1966. He was in his first year of residency at a hospital in New York City at the time. Because he was commissioned as a lieutenant and...

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Vanessa A. Marshall enlisted in the United States Army in 1964. She entered the army as an officer, because she had already obtained a Bachelors degree in nursing and had five years of experience. She joined...

Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. David S. Powell enlisted in the U.S. Air Force shortly after his graduation from Yale University in 1952. He had come from a long line of family members who had fought or assisted in war efforts over the...